Since early November last year, one of the most shocking headlines featured one of the game's biggest legends. Martina Hingis was forced to retired once again, after a failed drug test. With Hingis away from the limelight, what exactly will this mean for her career and the future of tennis?

It seems hard to imagine Hingis returning two years from now. Not only will she be well into her thirties, but the game itself will be something completely different than when she left it. She even said in an interview that the hardest part about returning after a few years was re-adapting her game. On top of all that, her desire to be amongst the most elite will probably have vanished or at least be diminished.

It’s hard to imagine her leaving the tennis world completely, though. She may not have a WTA ranking, but what’s to keep her away exhibition matches, or stop her competing in team tennis? Who knows, maybe she'll even start her own tennis academy.

'Already this year, Bacsinszky has come up with exceptional results'


The tennis world will be missing a true champion, there is no denying that. But with Hingis out of the picture maybe we can finally begin to recognise Switzerland’s second leading lady, Patty Schnyder, or even Timea Bacsinszky.

True, Schnyder hasn’t had the most outstanding career, and she hasn’t won as much as Hingis, but she has had a very successful career. After 2001 she never finished the year ranked lower than 23. Back in 2005 she soared to a career high ranking of seven and had some of her best Grand Slam results.

At the age of 29, she has accumulated 10 titles, and four doubles crowns. It may not seem like a lot, but it really is a great feat; with more than 1,200 women on the tour, winning on ten separate occasions is something most women will never do.

Bacsinszky, on the other hand, has a long career ahead of her, as she is only 18. Who knows what the youngster is capable of. She might even be able to turn out like Hingis as she progresses. She already sits at a career high of 59, after starting the year outside the Top 100.

Already this year, Bacsinszky has come up with exceptional results. At the Australian Open, she battled her way through the qualifying draw, which included one of Russia’s top junior players, Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova. She entered the main draw, and made it to the second round before falling to Sania Mirza of India, in a tight three-set encounter going to 7-5 in the third.

In Antwerp she did the same thing; fought her way through a qualifying draw, and on her way to a semi-final run, she took down Daniela Hantuchova. She finally took on Justine Henin, the top seed, and even though she failed to defeat the Belgian she was able to stretch her to three sets, something a lot of competitors aren’t able to do.

Hingis may leave the tour for good, but her country will be left with two hopefuls. Although even Schnyder may be nearing the end, Bacsinszky is far from calling it quits.